Part 2: Everything a Rabbi and Educator Needs to Know About Instagram

How to Use Instagram Video

With 20 billion photos already shared on Instagram, about 60 million are added each day. When Twitter first launched in 2006, many were unsure how to use it and asked, “what was the point of a medium that only sends out 140 character messages at a time?” Today, Twitter is one of the most popular and widely used sites on the web, and the place that all news and information breaks first (for instance, the first alert that a bomb went off at the Boston Marathon was via Twitter).

So why should you care about or use Instagram being that they only allow you to upload a video of fifteen seconds or less?

Instagram has the potential to be a pretty useful, quick, and simple way to get your video message out to the masses.

Ben Lichtenwalner explains that, “Similar to Twitter – the value is in the constraint and the standard. On YouTube, I must wade through volumes of long content to find the meat of the matter. Here, with Vine [or Instagram], content creators are obligated to get to the heart of the matter in seconds.”

Best of all, people and organizations aren’t expecting you to “go all out” and have your video look like “a thousand bucks!” This can be a great thing for any nonprofit that operates on a “shoe string budget.” What makes both Twitter and Instagram unique, is that users expect and appreciate simplicity.

After all, they have limits on how much content users can generate (Twitter only allows 140 characters and Instagram only allows for fifteen-seconds of video at a time). While this might seem constricting at first, if Twitter has proven anything, it’s that the statement found in Pirkei Avos (1:15) that teaches us that we can do more with less words, rings all the more true in today’s fast-moving world.

Learn from the Best

The best way to get to know any new social network is to take the time to see how other nonprofits and businesses are using it. Read the article by Mashable highlighting 10 nonprofits and how they use Instagram.

Are you still unsure? Have a look at the next section…

Instagram Rabbis, Educators & Jewish Organizations

Below, is a short list of some of the many rabbis, educators and Jewish organizations that you can follow on Instagram for ideas and inspiration:

Additional Links, Articles & Resources

If you haven’t already started using Instagram, read the following links and articles. We are sure that you will find it as a successful platform that works as a resource for sharing, engaging and branding your organization.